The Department for Education has slashed its strategic partner programme with the voluntary sector from five partners to one and halved its funding pot for charities from £120m to £60m.

The bidding round for the Department for Education’s strategic partner grant for the voluntary sector for 2013 to 2015 has just opened. While for 2011-13 the strategic partner programme saw five charities sharing £9.6m, the new programme will be a single grant for a two-year period worth up to £1m per year.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The strategic partners programme is due to end in March 2013.  We have always maintained that this was a time-limited programme over two years, not a grant that would be repeated or extended. 
 
“We will now work with a single partner to develop innovative approaches to support children and young people. In addition, we recently announced new funding for voluntary and community services worth £60m over the next two years.”

However, the £60m in grants is also a reduction in funding from the DfE to the sector.  In 2011 the DfE awarded £120m in outcome-based grants to over 100 charities over two years.

The DfE's current strategic partners are 4Children, Barnardo’s, Children England, Council for Disabled Children and the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS).